AFTER
by YoursTruly319
Summary: The FAYZ wall has come down, and it's up to Tuesday, Sam and Astrid to keep things together. The adults think that the kids' powers disappeared when the wall did ... but Tuesday and the others know better. How are the kids going to deal with a return to 'normal' life? And what will happen when Sam and the others have to explain their actions to adults who just don't understand?
1. Prologue

**Sorry that it's so short! I just needed to get it on here so that it'd be a priority to get it done (I've got _way _too many stories going at once right now!). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review! Let me know what you think, and if I should bother pursuing this FanFic idea . . . I need to know which is my top priority, my story or my math test! :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own GONE! (obviously) Michael Grant does. Tuesday, however, is all mine.  
**

Tuesday's POV

"Tuesday." I woke with a start, the quiet voice at my ear pulling me from sleep.

"Sam!" I bolted upright, eyes quickly adjusting to the dark. Ever since the wall came down Sam and I hadn't met in private. I honestly hadn't expected him to show – not after nearly two months.

Sam put a finger to his lips, shushing me, but I was already throwing myself forward into his arms, only realizing in that moment how much I had missed him.

It felt so good to hold him again, and I melted a little inside when Sam's arms came around me and held me just as tight. Things had been so tense between us lately, with what happened after the breakup with Caine, and then the final battle and the fall of the FAYZ wall . . .

*Sigh* I'd better go back to the beginning.


	2. Explanation

**Hey Guys – while reading the Gone series (mainly the last book, Fear) I started placing my character, Tuesday, in the scenes. I really want to share those scenes with you guys, so just picture Fear written the way it was, only I'm going to tweak a few of the scenes. The rest are pretty much the exact same as Michael Grant wrote them. **

**Tuesday's Back Story:**

**Okay, so her full name is Tuesday Bryant. Age fifteen in Fear. Her mom and twin brother were killed in a car accident when Tues was twelve, and her dad (who's super rich and barely around) just didn't understand what Tuesday was going through. She started partying and sleeping around, and ended up pregnant when she was fourteen. Her dad sent her to Coates Academy when he found out. When Caine started plastering kids with powers, Tuesday decided to get out of there. But before she could escape Caine had Diana read her and they found out that Tuesday was a four bar (She shoots fire from her hands, but how hers works is that her whole hands and a good deal of her forearms are engulfed by flames (depending on how mad she is the flames can climb all the way up to her shoulders). Caine was ready to kill her then and there until Tuesday set fire to the wing of the school that they were in and managed to escape after a major fight with Caine (I might write that scene, might not, so for now I'll just say that about it). She escaped to Perdido Beach, where Sam promised her sanctuary. **

**Tuesday and Sam had a kinda under-the-radar romance thing going on, but at the time Tuesday was heavily pregnant and Sam was with Astrid. **

**Tuesday gave birth to her son, Fane, in the time between Hunger and Lies (she was four months pregnant in Gone, so she gave birth when the FAYZ had been around for five months). **

**She and Sam got together after Astrid left, and she ended up pregnant soon after (they'd been officially dating for about two months). **

**I'll post a chapter of the story soon – I'm just doing some final revision on it!**


	3. Beginning of Fear

**Disclaimer: I don't own GONE or any of the characters except for Tuesday, Fane and Dune.  
**

**This scene is from FEAR, chapter nine, near the end. Tuesday is only two months pregnant with Sam's baby, and went with Sam, Dekka and Computer Jack to check on the missiles. **

Astrid's POV

Edilio had mixed reactions to my sudden reappearance, and I was pretty sure that they were only half due to the new about the barrier that I brought.

Edilio and I talked for a bit, but it was pretty obvious that I was exhausted –both emotionally and physically.

He seemed to hesitate before telling me to go crash in Sam's bunk.

I fell into the bed, feeling safer than I had in months, surrounded by Sam's familiar scent.

Tuesday's POV

By the time Sam, Dekka, Jack and I got home I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to fall into bed with Sam and sleep until noon the next day.

Except apparently Edilio had other plans.

"Sam!" Sam and I turned at the sound of his name as Edilio hurried to intercept us. "Sam, Astrid's here."

My eyes flicked to my boyfriend's face to find emotions warring on it. Wariness, longing, pain – it was all there, as easy to read as a book.

"What?" Sam got out as Edilio finally reached us.

"She wants to talk to you about the barrier, and how it's changing." Edilio told the two of us quietly. "I told her she could crash in your bunk for the night – I wasn't sure when you guys would be back, and I didn't want to have to be the one to tell her about . . . well, about you and Tuesday."

I felt immediately bad that Edilio had been put in this position – I knew that he liked Astrid just as much as he liked me, and I didn't want him to feel that he had to choose between us now that Astrid was back.

"Don't sweat it." I piped up, stepping in when Sam just stood there, processing the thought of Astrid in his bed. "Thanks, Edilio."

Edilio nodded in relief before bidding us goodnight and heading for his own room after I assured him that Sam and I would be fine crashing in Fane's nursery for the night (my seven month old son had his little cubby room just beside the room that Sam and I shared in the White Houseboat).

Sam followed me mutely down the hall as I pondered just what he was going to say to Astrid in the morning, and just what her return would mean for us and our relationship.

Astrid's POV

I woke early the next morning to find that Sam hadn't returned during the night. I pushed aside the ache that arose unbidden in my chest and rose, ready to face the day.

The houseboat had a little dining room, and I headed there after I had dressed in my jeans and the cleanest shirt that I owned.

Halfway down the hallway I heard the murmur of voices and baby noises; it was then that I realized that Tuesday and her son must live here too – as far as I could tell Edilio and Dekka lived with Sam in the houseboat, so why not Tuesday and little Fane too?

As I rounded the corner and came into the room the noise dropped away; Edilio and Tuesday sat at the table, and Dekka stood by the window, gazing out. Fane sat in a makeshift highchair by Tuesday's side, mucking around in some sort of chopped vegetable.

"Astrid!" Tuesday stood quickly, looking a tad uncertain. What was going on here? "You're back."

I nodded. "I'm here to see Sam – do you know where he is?"

"That's what Edilio told us." Was Tuesday avoiding my question? "That you had something to tell us about the barrier."

I nodded again. "It's changing. It's . . . darkening." That was the best way to describe it, I decided. Hopefully Sam would have some sort of explanation.

"Tell her." Dekka said suddenly. Dekka wasn't all that fond of me – she was more Sam's friend than mine (I knew that she thought I was a snob, but Sam had refused to confirm my suspicions).

Glancing at Dekka with a slight frown, I demanded, "Tell me what?"

Tuesday shot Dekka a sharp glance as the bigger girl told me tonelessly, "Sam and Tuesday are together, and Tues is pregnant with Sam's baby."

My jaw dropped open, and I marveled that it didn't hit the ground as Tuesday flushed bright red and Edilio shifted uncomfortably. Dekka continued to stand at the window, unfazed.

"Astrid." Sam couldn't have chosen a worse time to show up; I whirled on him with a hurt expression.

"Tuesday?" I demanded shrilly. "You and _Tuesday_ the teenage mother?"

Sam froze in the doorway, half in the room and half out as I released my shock and rage on him.

"Did you two even wait until I was out of the picture?" God, I sounded like a shrew, but I couldn't help it. "When I refused to sleep with you did you turn to Tuesday for that? I doubt she would have turned you down!"

Tuesday remained silent, even as I named her a whore.

"Astrid, I . . ." I cut Sam off before he could finish.

"How could you do that to me?! How could you choose Tuesday the Slut over me?"

"Enough." Dekka's voice was sharp as she came over from her position at the window, an angry expression on her face. "You were the one who left, Astrid. You have no right to insult Tuesday and lash out at Sam just because he moved on and you didn't."

What had happened to the logical thinking that I prided myself on? Why was I so angry? Sam could move on with Tuesday for all I cared – as soon as I figured out what was going on with the barrier I would be gone, back to my lone existence in the woods.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed aside the topic of Sam and Tuesday and said more or less steadily, "The barrier is changing, Sam, and I came to figure out why."

**Okay, so the story continues from there as Michael Grant wrote it. That was the only scene that I imagined Tuesday in in the beginning of the book.**


	4. End of FEAR

**Disclaimer: I don't own GONE, HUNGER, LIES, PLAGUE, FEAR or LIGHT, Michael Grant does, blah blah blah, blab blab blab - Tuesday, Fane and Dune are mine.  
**

**This part is my revision of the end of FEAR. I'm not going to rewrite the whole thing – just scenes that pertain to Tuesday (who, as you all know, isn't in the Gone series). **

**Kay, so when the houseboats are cast off Tuesday is on the one with Diana, just she's more out of sight so it's Diana that Drake snatches, not Tuesday. **

**The part with Sam and Astrid in the woods and Sam's concern for Astrid is toned down a little, but when Sam finds Astrid after Cigar was eaten by zekes, he still comforted her and they still kissed.**

General POV

As Drake led Diana and Penny deeper and deeper into the the Gaiaphage's cave, Tuesday stood with Edilio on shore. As the strongest freak left at the Lake, it was up to her to defend the kids left in her and Edilio's care.

Until she felt a stirring in her abdomen and her belly started to grow, that is. Tuesday stared down at her stomach in horror as it expanded and she felt her baby quicken. WTH? She gasped to herself. This wasn't supposed to happen for months!

"Um, Edilio . . ." Tuesday trailed off as Edilio turned and took in her bulging stomach, eyes widening. "Something's not right."

"What . . . ?" Edilio broke off too as Tuesday's belly continued to grow.

What was happening?! Tuesday reached down to grasp her now visibly pregnant stomach. As the minutes ticked by Tuesday's belly continued to grow, until she had a bump worthy of any nine months pregnant mother-to-be.

And Tuesday was going to be a mother extremely soon – her contractions, which shouldn't be plaguing her for another seven months, had begun.

The baby was on its way.

Edilio hustled Tuesday to the supply shack by the main dock, hiding his panic remarkably well. After all, this _was_ the FAYZ – anything was possible here.

But Edilio still hadn't seen this coming – Tuesday giving birth when she was only two months pregnant.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god . . ." Tuesday moaned, grasping her belly as her contractions strengthened. Panic fled her mind as pain filled it.

Edilio helped Tuesday lie down, cursing Sam under his breath. Why did things like this always happen as soon as Sam headed out?

There was no one really around to help Tuesday, but Edilio was so not ready to deliver a baby on his own.

"I'll be right back." He promised Tuesday, doubting that she even heard him as a contraction gripped her and she moaned lowly.

Running for the boats, Edilio yelled, "Sinder!" With her ability to speed plant growth, Sinder had worked closely with Sam and she was the only person that Edilio's befuddled mind could think of to help in a situation like this.

"T'sup, Edilio?" Sinder's voice called back from one of the closer houseboats.

Forcing the panic from his voice, Edilio called back, "Can you come ashore for a moment? I need your help with the crops."

Yeah, that was good; kids wouldn't question that, as Sinder was the Lake's head gardener, and the crops fell under her area of expertise.

"Be right there!" Sinder was ashore in moments that passed agonizingly slow for Edilio as Tuesday continued to moan and writhe in the shed.

Once ashore, Edilio took Sinder by the arm and quickly explained to her in an undertone what was going on.

"Tuesday's in labour." Edilio murmured to Sinder as he led her towards the shed, Tuesday's cries becoming clearer and clearer the closer they got. "I don't know what's happening, but the baby's on its way."

"And you decided to call _me_?" Sinder was incredulous, but Edilio didn't have time for that.

"I need your help!" He burst out. "The baby's on the way and you're the only person still around who I trust to help!"

Sinder was extremely skeptical, but she had little choice in the matter when she entered the shed to find Tuesday gasping in pain on the floor of the shed.

The baby was already crowning.

"It's a boy!" Sinder held the bloody writhing little body in her hands as Tuesday fell back onto the floor, drained.

She and Edilio quickly got the newborn cleaned off, and by the time they were done the baby was awake and alert, already attempting to stand.

"Madre de Dios." Edilio whispered, watching the infant stumble over to its mother, hungry for nourishment.

Tuesday cradled the rapidly growing baby in her arms as the baby latched onto her nipple, expression tender.

"Tuesday . . ." Edilio trailed off as Tuesday pushed herself into a sitting position and rocked the baby gently back and forth.

"Dune." Tuesday said suddenly, not listening to Edilio.

When she didn't say anything else, Edilio prompted, "Dune what?"

"His name." She explained quietly. "After Frank Herbert's book, _Dune_. "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."" She quoted.

Edilio wondered if she was suffering from post traumatic stress and/or blood loss.

**Kay, so, after that Tuesday headed for Perdido Beach with Dune, feeling that that was where she needed to be. Ignoring Edilio's protests, she headed determinedly for town, completely healed after the birth and back to her normal self thanks to Dune, who was maturing at the same rate as Gaia.**

**This scene is during that battle between Sam, Caine, Drake, Gaia and Penny. **

**Tuesday arrives after the barrier becomes see through, at the very end of chapter thirty-eight in FEAR. As Sam's firing at Gaia, Drake spots Tuesday and Dune, and the Gaiaphage speaks in his mind and orders Drake to kill Dune. **

Tuesday's POV

I ran onto the scene to find Caine collapsed close to a newly see through barrier (the barrier was see through! Oh my god . . .!), Sam firing twin beams of light at an infant girl (the Gaiaphage, the voice that I had come to recognize as my infant son's said in my head – my infant son, who was now the same size and shape as a toddler, as was the Gaiaphage, who the voice named as Gaia), and dozens of shocked faces staring in horror at us.

And Drake lunging for my baby boy, my little Dune.

I screamed, cradling my son against me protectively with one arm and setting the other alight, slinging a fireball at Drake. It was obvious that Drake was after my baby boy.

He caught fire immediately, and I set Dune down and sent him in the direction of Caine (who looked to be recovering from something that I had obviously missed – oh my god, was that Penny's body laying there, her skull a bloody mess?) as I faced off with Drake.

"If you want Dune you'll have to go through me." I snarled at Drake, placing my body between Whip Hand and Dune.

Drake flicked an annoyed look at me, putting out his shirt. "Fine." He snapped. "I guess I can have a little fun first."

Ouch – that was hurtful. I lit my arms, the flames climbing up to my elbows, ignoring the gaping faces of spectators on the other side of the FAYZ wall.

"Bring it on, zombie boy!" I shouted, flinging another fireball at Drake before shooting a spray of flames from both hands, ready to incinerate Drake.

He ducked the onslaught, the fireball missing the side of his head by mere inches and lunged for me, whip hand swinging towards me.

I jumped out of the way, rolling on the ground before shoving up into a partially upright position and trying to get off another shot.

Drake's whip wrapped around my waist out of nowhere and I was flying through the air, landing hard in the dirt.

Okay, _now_ I was mad.

With a cry of fury, I forced air back into my lungs and fired twin beams of flames at Drake, more flames springing up behind him and on either side, trapping him in.

Drake tried his best to dodge my flames, but he had next to nowhere to go as the walls of flames started creeping in towards him. I watched his left leg burst into flames with grim satisfaction.

It was time for the bastard to die, for real this time.

From the corner of my eye I saw Sam firing his light at Gaia until the toddler – the Gaiaphage – was engulfed in flames.

The flaming child turned her body towards where Dune stood with his pudgy little hand on Caine's forehead, and, with any mother's perception, I sensed the new threat towards my child. Turning away from Drake I started towards the Gaiaphage, but the creature seemed to sense me coming and turned, running back down the highway. I headed towards my son in case Drake decided to have a second go, but he was following Diana and the monster child away, retreating to god only knew where.

The rest of us were left standing there, staring after the three retreating forms amidst the carnage, the probing eyes of the outsiders staring in, horrified.

Things were changing.

**That's that! What happened next is the same as the 'Later' chapter in FEAR, except Sam doesn't take Astrid's hand in the end (after all, he's technically still with Tuesday, even though he and Astrid kissed by the zeke field!). Sam, Astrid, Tuesday and Dune head back to the Lake, while Caine goes to take charge of Perdido Beach again. Penny's body is left by the barrier, and Albert is still on his island with his missiles. **

**And thus begins my version of LIGHT! **


	5. We Need To Talk

LIGHT, Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gone, Michael Grant does (and I just want to thank him right now for that! I LOVE these books! And I totally can't wait until Apr.2 for LIGHT to come out for real!)  
**

**So my version of LIGHT is going to be a little patchy – mostly it's just going to be random scenes that I have Tuesday in that will explain some of the things that happen in AFTER (my own personal extension of the GONE series), and the final battle between Dune and the Gaiaphage the ends with the FAYZ barrier coming down. **

**Little Pete isn't really in either LIGHT or AFTER, so sorry! But he's not really my main character, Dune is. I'm sure in Michael Grant's version Petey will play a much bigger role, but I have Dune cast for that part. I have Little Pete more or less disappearing from existence (even in his kinda ghostly, spiritual form) when Gaia and Dune are born and the barrier becomes see through. Then again, Little Pete and Dune are kinda combined in the sense that Dune now has control of the dome (not complete control, mind – what I mean is that Little Pete is Dune in the same way as the Gaiaphage is Gaia, just toned down a little). **

**Alrighty. These next few parts are going to be after Sam and the gang have returned to the Lake. Remember, this part of my story is very piecey (yes, that's not a word, but it best describes what I'm trying to get at, so bear with me! Oh, and 'alrighty' isn't a word either, but who's keeping track? ;), because the purpose that it serves is to lead into AFTER. **

**I hope you guys enjoy! Please R&R!**

_It's been thirteen months since all of the adults in Perdido Beach disappeared._

Tuesday's POV

Sam, Astrid and I returned to the Lake while Caine went back to town. We've been trying to ignore the helicopters that circle overhead, special long distant camera lenses trained on our every movement. Kids have been flocking to the barrier since it became see through, and people have been streaming in from all over to gape at us.

But we have bigger things to worry about, with the Gaiaphage, Drake and Diana out there somewhere, recuperating and preparing for battle.

After that battle by the barrier, things between Sam and I have been tense. After all, we have a one month old son who looks like he's nearly five years old. Dune's been maturing at a rapid rate, and I suspect that Diana's daughter, Gaia, is maturing at the same speed.

Sam's hiding something from me; I can sense it. I love him more than I've ever loved any other boy, but I'm not sure if he returns the feelings, especially now that Astrid's back for good.

It's obvious that Astrid's still in love with him, and it's obvious that he's torn.

He's still in love with her too.

_The Next Day_

"Sam, we need to talk." I'd been mustering the courage for this conversation for weeks now.

Sam just nodded, and we headed for the bunk that we still shared. Sam was a great father to Dune, I had to admit, but we needed to talk about our own relationship, and whether we should be together or not.

Whether Sam still loved me or not.

Whether he loved Astrid more.

I shut the door to our room quietly behind us as Sam took a seat on the edge of the bed, regarding me warily as I turned to face him and leaned against the door and contemplated him.

I still loved him, I had to admit to myself. And I didn't know what I would do if he didn't love me back.

"Sam . . ." I began, but he cut me off.

"Astrid and I kissed." He burst out, shocking me into silence. When I just gaped at him, he explained, "It was just before the battle, when I was trying to find my way to town and I came across her. Cigar had just died, and she was sitting there, crying. I comforted her, and it just happened, Tues. I wanted to tell you, but . . . I just couldn't. I was afraid of how you'd react." He hung his head at the end of his speech, and I stared at him with mixed emotions.

"Has anything happened since?" I had to ask; I had to know.

He shook his head, peeking up at me. "No, but – no."

"But you wanted to." I finished the thought that he had cut off, and Sam just nodded again.

"I love you, Tues, and I love Dune, but . . ." He shrugged. "I can't forget about Astrid, either."

I could feel myself starting to get angry, but I knew better than to freak at him. "I need awhile to process this." I told him softly even though I felt like shouting and screaming.

I left the room before he could reply.


	6. Caught in the Act (while, kinda)

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! (kay, technically I own Tuesday, Fane and Dune). The GONE series belongs to Michael Grant, and I'm just temporarily borrowing it to keep myself from going crazy while I wait for LIGHT to come out (only five more months!).**

**Hope you guys like it!  
**

LIGHT, Chapter Two

Astrid's POV

Things between Sam and I were tense; I was still madly in love with him – my feelings had never gone away, and I regretted that I had let him slip through my fingers – and I knew that he hadn't stopped loving me, either.

But he was trying to make things work with Tuesday for the sake of their son. Deep down, I resented that the only reason that Tuesday got to keep Sam was because she had gotten pregnant.

Tuesday and I mostly avoided each other for the sake of keeping things uncomplicated, but it wasn't all that easy – after all, the houseboat wasn't _that_ big. But that's what the kids needed; stability. And if Tuesday and I went around trying to tear each other down and fighting over Sam that would tear down any such illusions of the carefully crafted stability that Sam, Edilio and the others had worked to achieve in my absence.

_Two Days after Tuesday's Talk with Sam_

"Wanna go for a walk?" When Sam had shown up at my door I hadn't been able to say no. As we walked away from the Lake, a ways down the main path towards the town, Sam was quiet, a thoughtful look on his face.

Everyone knew that his and Tuesday's relationship was on the rocks, even though they hid it remarkably well.

We walked in silence for several minutes until Sam said quietly, "I told Tuesday about our kiss."

I stiffened, not quite sure how I felt about that. The fact that Sam and I had kissed while Tuesday was in the process of giving birth to Sam's child made me feel dirty. And yes, I felt bad about what had happened in the spur of the moment.

But I also couldn't help but feel that Tuesday had stolen Sam from me in the beginning. I suppose that when I had left I had effectively broken up with Sam, but deep down I hadn't felt that that was the case. I had still felt like Sam was mine.

"What did she say?" I asked Sam just as quietly as we continued walking.

Sam sighed heavily. "She said that she needed time to think."

We came to a stop by the side of the road and Sam lowered himself to the ground, getting comfortable in the grass. After a heartbeat I joined him.

"I want to make it work, Astrid, for Dune's sake. And . . . well, for Tuesday and me too." He flicked a glance at me before whispering, "I do love her. But I love you too."

I leaned forward on an impulse and kissed him, pressing my mouth to his. After a moment of hesitation he kissed me back.

"This is how you think about it?" A sharp voice demanded from behind us, and Sam and I sprang apart to find a furious Tuesday on the path.

I didn't have time to question how she had managed to sneak up on us before she stomped over, glaring darkly at Sam.

Tuesday's POV

I couldn't believe my eyes. When I'd seen Sam and Astrid head down the path I had impulsively followed them, feeling bad the whole time but too curious to leave. And then they'd started making out!

Sam jumped to his feet, a guilty look on his face. "Tuesday, I can explain . . ."

I shook my head furiously as Astrid gaped up at me stupidly. "No, you can't." I hissed. "I've seen everything."

"It's not what you think . . ." Sam trailed off as I laughed bitterly.

"I'm not an idiot, Samuel, and neither are you." I snapped. "So don't even try to lie to me."

He struggled with his next words, obviously wanting to keep me but have Astrid too. "Ever since Astrid returned . . ." He shrugged helplessly. "I just can't help thinking what it, Tues."

"I'm not going to be second, Sam." I told him quietly. "You have to choose, and you have to choose now. Me, or Astrid." I knew that I was putting him on the line, and that nobody could make such a serious decision under such pressure, but I was beyond caring. Our relationship had been under pressure ever since Astrid's return, and now that the barrier was see through and we had the adults staring in things had been even tenser.

Sam and I wanted to track down Diana, Drake and the Gaiaphage. Astrid didn't, and that was where the problem lay.

As the seconds ticked by and Sam continued to struggle with his words, I made my decision. I had been telling the truth; if I wasn't Sam's number one then I refused to settle for being number two. If Sam didn't want to be with me then fine. I didn't want to be with him either.

"I guess we're done then." I said quietly, turning and walking away before Sam could muster a reply.

Good riddance.


	7. Removal of Inhibitions

**Disclaimer: You guys know the drill. I do not own (insert name of book/series), (insert name of author) does. I don't own GONE or any of the other books, Michael Grant does. (see? you can so veer off of the beaten path! Take _that_, template!)**

**Anyways, on with Chapter Three!  
**

LIGHT, Chapter Three

Astrid's POV

I watched Tuesday stride down the path as Sam stared blankly after her, and I couldn't help but feel bad.

But, worse than that, I felt happy, too. Sam was free now . . . free to be with me . . .

Even after Tuesday had disappeared from sight, Sam continued to stare at her, and the moments of silence ticked on.

Finally, though, he turned to me, and I could see the pain in his eyes. I felt immediately contrite then; this wasn't how he had wanted to end things between Tuesday and himself.

And, as I looked into his eyes, I realized that he might not have wanted to end things between him and Tuesday at all.

Standing silently, I moved over to him and set a gentle hand on his arm for a moment before continuing past him and back towards the Lake, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

_That Night_

The knock at my door came late at night, and I opened it to reveal none other than Sam Temple. I barely got the door open before Sam was in my room, his hands tangling in my hair and my lips pressed to his. _This_ was what should have happened on the night of my reappearance.

And now it was.

_It's been fourteen months since all of the adults disappeared from Perdido Beach._

Of course it wasn't as easy as that – after all, Sam and I were co-ruling the Lake, and we had a quickly maturing son together.

As far as I knew Diana's daughter was maturing at the same rate as my son. At the moment Dune had the physical maturity of a five year old and he aged by months every day.

I tried not to let mine and Sam's breakup come between my interactions with Astrid. After all, Astrid _was_ still Astrid the Genius for a reason. Her guesses about Dune and Gaia were the best around, and, for the sake of my son, I was willing to put any animosity between us aside.

But, soon enough, I couldn't take it anymore. I decided that it'd be better for Sam, Dune and I if I moved to Perdido Beach with our son. Sam worried about what Caine would do (after all, he and I didn't have the best track record), but I didn't care. Sam had made his choice, and now I was making mine.

_It's been sixteen months since all of the adults disappeared from Perdido Beach._

General POV

Tuesday sighed, waking slowly as she rolled over in the bed . . . and encountered a warm, solid and distinctly male form beside her.

Bolting upright, memories of the night before came flooding back, and Tuesday had to repress a groan. Oh God, what have I done? She thought to herself as she took in Caine Soren, still sleeping soundly beside her.

"So not good." Tuesday murmured to herself, pulling the blanket up to cover her naked breasts. "So so not good . . ."

"Calm down, would you?" Caine muttered, voice muffled by the pillow. Apparently he was awake after all.

If Caine was being completely honest, he'd been attracted to Tuesday since her arrival at Coates Academy back before the FAYZ. And when Caine's annoying do-gooder brother Sam had ended up with the lovely Ms Bryant Caine had been annoyed.

But with Diana out the picture – Caine refused to even _think_ about her anymore – he was free to fool around with Tuesday.

Tuesday had been in Perdido Beach for two months now, and Caine was surprised that it had taken this long for her to realize that sleeping with him would be a good way of getting back at Sam for cheating on her. Caine was, of course, more than happy to oblige, not minding at all that Tuesday was only using him for revenge.

After all, he was only using her for her body.

"Now's not the time, Caine." Tuesday snapped, running a hand through her hair. "God, what was I _thinking_?!"

Caine glanced up at her. "It's not the end of the world." He sat up slowly, and Tuesday couldn't help but check him out. God, he really was gorgeous. A tad skinnier than he'd been before the FAYZ, but still leanly muscled with thick hair and gorgeous features. The cement that Penny had plastered on his hands was completely gone now, and Lana had healed the last of his wounds months ago.

Pulling her attention back to Caine's words, Tuesday had to admit that he was right. Why should she feel guilty about what she'd done? Sam had obviously moved on – he and Astrid were sharing Sam and Tuesday's old room on the White Houseboat and, according to Dekka (who still wasn't extremely fond of Astrid the Genius), they were sleeping together.

Tuesday only hoped that they had the sense to use protection, something that she regretted overlooking when it had been her who was receiving Sam's love.

If she was being completely honest with herself, Tuesday had to admit that she was still in love with Sam. She would never admit that to _him_, of course, but she would admit it to herself. And, if he came crawling back to her, begging her to take him back, Tuesday had a bad feeling that she'd agree in a heartbeat.

"Maybe not." Tuesday muttered to Caine, pushing down her guilt. Sam had made his choice – why should she be celibate when he obviously wasn't?

As if reading her mind, Caine said, "I have more condoms."

Pushing aside her inhibitions, Tuesday dropped the sheet and slid back into Caine's arms.

**This might be the last chapter that I post for a bit, because right now I'm writing scenes from AFTER before I can forget them! I'll try to have another chapter posted in a few days!**


	8. The Musings of Samuel Temple

**Disclaimer: God, these things are tiring! I don't own GONE, HUNGER, LIES, PLAGUE, FEAR and/or LIGHT (which isn't even out yet!), though I do wish that I did. Sadly, Michael Grant beat me to it (I always lose the dibs game!). **

**Anyways, he's kind enough to let wannabes like me borrow his characters and settings for a while, so God bless him for that!  
**

**So let's see what I can come up with. Please R&R, and let me know if you have any suggestions as to scenes I should add - I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here, trying to come up with scenes to put between these ones and the big battle that I have planned for the end!  
**

LIGHT, Chapter Four

General POV

As Caine and Tuesday made love down in Perdido Beach, Sam stood on the deck of the White Houseboat and stared up moodily at the helicopters circling above.

Since the barrier had become transparent, Sam had avoided it as much as possible. He hated the prying eyes that judged his every movement. He hated knowing that the video of him burning the Gaiaphage would have gone viral by now.

None of those people on the outside had a single clue what life was like in the FAYZ, yet there they stood, judging him.

Now more than ever Sam thought about what people would say if the barrier ever came down. What they'd think of him, the deaths that they would hold him accountable for, the decision that he'd made that they would pick apart . . .

It'd been too long now since anything had happened. This was the FAYZ, after all. 'Peace and quiet' was a concept that didn't exist here.

It was like the calm before the storm, Sam reflected to himself as he stood there on the top deck. He had a sinking feeling that it was going to be a big butt storm when it finally came.

It was moments like this that Sam wished Tuesday was still around. She'd always known just what to say when he'd started thinking these dark thoughts. Sam wasn't sure that breaking up with Tues had been the best path to take. He still saw Dune regularly, but he hadn't seen Tuesday in over a month.

He missed her the way he had once missed Astrid. At first it had just been little things – the sound of her laugh, the colour of her eyes, the way she'd snuggled into his arms at night. Then the ache had grown; he missed talking to her, holding her, teasing her. He missed having her by his side.

But he was with Astrid now – he couldn't keep flip flopping between Tuesday and Astrid. He'd made his decision, and he refused to interrupt any life that Tuesday had made for herself after him.

She, Dune and Fane (aged eleven months) lived down in Perdido Beach now. Sam worried about her, down there by herself, having to parent her two sons. But he knew that if he got involved Tuesday would resent him. She was extremely independent, even more so than Astrid was now.

Pushing thoughts of Tuesday from his mind, Sam turned his attention back to the circling copter. The outsiders had been trying to get in touch with Sam and the other FAYZ leaders for a while now; they used signs to communicate with kids at the barriers. Sam sent Brianna down every day to check out any news and report it back.

But what Sam was more worried about was Albert; word had reached him that Albert was hiding out on the Brattle-Chance island with the missiles that Sam had originally discovered.

So far they were getting along all right without Albert; Quinn was still in charge of fishing, so they still got food that way, and down in town Tuesday and Caine had taken over Albert's support system.

But the thought of Albert out there with those missiles still sat uneasily with Sam.

Yet another problem that he would have to deal with. Sam already had so many things on his plate; Taylor's condition, Orc's renewed drinking (Howard's death had really hit the big guy hard), the Drake/Brittney creature, Diana, and, most of all, the Gaiaphage.

Plus the added stress of the Power. Kids were mutating who had seemed 'normal' before, and that worried Sam – especially after what had happened to Hunter.

There was one girl in particular – Keaton Elliott – who was developing telekinetic abilities much like Caine's. Sam was going to keep an eye on her – the last thing that he wanted was for Caine to find out and get his hands on the fourteen year old.


	9. Brief Explanation

**Okay, so, I have a bad habit of writing down scenes _way_ out of order. But I've had these pieces sitting in my documents file for months now, and my mind is on a different story. So for all you faithful, patient readers out there, I feel that I owe you at least this. **

**These are just some out-of-order scenes that happen after LIGHT, in AFTER. The barrier has come down, the kids are in the real world, and that's about it. I've been struggling with just how to write some of the final scenes in LIGHT, so to alleviate that stress I played around with some things that could happen in LIGHT. **

**I'll try and get the rest of this story out soon! But for now, I hope y'all enjoy. **


	10. Two Months After the Fall of the FAYZ

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the characters that I invented. (Duh). Everything else belongs to Michael Grant.  
**

_Two Months after the fall of the FAYZ_

Tuesday's POV

"What is it, Edilio?" I asked quietly, leading him a ways down the hall and out of earshot of the cafeteria.

"They're planning to start sending everyone home." Edilio told me quietly, face serious. "They're going to try to pass it off as nothing and try to get everyone to forget the FAYZ ever happened."

I snorted softly. "Figures. They've had their genius scientists thinking up 'plausible', good sounding explanations for it all ever since the barrier came down."

Edilio nodded. "What I've also heard, though, is that they're putting people on trial."

This wasn't exactly news to me; I'd been hearing the same thing for a while now. "The power plant operators?" I verified.

"And others." He whispered. "I don't have any names yet, but people seem to think that they're going to be putting some of the FAYZ leaders on trial."

Now _that_ was news to me. "What?" I demanded in an indignant squeak.

Edilio went to reply, but snapped his mouth shut immediately when he caught sight of the person heading casually towards us.

Caine.

"Ah, if it isn't Tuesday and her faithful Mexican. How you doing, Enrique?" Caine swaggered toward us, hands in his pockets and looking as carefree as a bird.

"It's Edilio." Edilio snapped. "And I'm Honduran."

"Right right. The illegal immigrant." Caine turned away from Edilio and gave me a seductive grin. "How's it going, Tuesday?"

"Not now, Caine." I snapped, narrowing my eeys on him.

He tsked. "Surely you want to hear what _I _have to say about these trials, don't you?"

Edilio snorted. "What would you know, King Caine?" The way Edilio said 'king' made it sound like a curse word.

Caine glanced at Edilio briefly. "More than you, Esteban."

"If they're putting kids on trial you'll be the first one they try." Edilio hissed angrily, fists clenching by his sides.

"I am." Caine didn't sound too concerned. "Me, Sam, Astrid, Albert, and even you, Eduardo. All of us except for Miss Tuesday here, who's daddy is too powerful to piss off. The rest of us poor suckers?" Caine chuckled humorlessly. "We're free game."

"What?" I demanded, ignroign Edilio as he stared daggers at Caine. It was usually so hard to upset Edilio, but Caine somehow always managed.

Caine glanced at me from the corner of his eye before nodding. "They're going to make us answer for our choices. But your daddy's too important to tick off, so you've been exempted."

Trials, though? "What are they charging you guys with?" What exactly did htey have to answer for?

Caine shrugged. "Dunno if it's an actual _charge_." He replied. "But tehy're going to throw down some consequences of what we did in our faces and then demand an explanation."

Edilio and I fell silent, processing this new turn of events as Caine sauntered away, calling his goodbye over his shoulder.

"See you soon, Tuesday. Bye, Ernesto!"

Someone was going to end up strangling Caine one day, and, even though I was pregnant with his child, I didn't think that I would be the one to try to stop them.

I wasn't sure that _anyone_ would try to stop them.

Later that night I sought out my father, looking for an explanation as to whether Caine's information was true or not.

"There are a lot of angry families out there whose kids didn't get out alive, Tues." Dad told me quietly when I confronted him. "And they're demanding blood."

"And they're getting away with it?!" I demanded incredulously. "How is that fair?"

"Life isn't fair, Tuesday." Dad said. He was one of the few parents who had been given housing inside of the base itself, and we stood in his room. I still wasn't sure if Dad was here for me or here for appearances. It was probably a mixture of the two, but I had a feeling that it was more of the latter than the former. "You'll understand one day, when you're older."

I gaped at my father, letting loose an incredulous laugh. "One day?" My laugh turned bitter. "You weren't in the FAYZ, Dad. You wanna see life that's really unfair? A day in the FAYZ will make your 'real world' look like child's play." My voice took on an angry note as I snapped, "And what the hell is this I'm hearing about people not believing us about the Gaiaphage?"

Dad sighed heavily as he explained, "The idea of some mutated alien from outer space trying to take over the world is just too farfetched, Tuesday. And there's no evidence."

"No _evidence_?" I exploded. "What about the zekes, and the flying snakes?" After the barrier had come down extermination teams had had to go in to rid Perdido Beach of the last of the zekes and winged snakes. "And the blue bats?" I pressed. Those were still around; they hadn't been able to get rid of all of them. "And hwo about Orc? Isn't he proof enough?" Baffling the scientists, Orc hadn't changed back to 'normal like the rest of us' (remember, the adults thought that our powers had disappeared with the barrier) and was still a monstrous rock creature. Getting angrier by the minute, I started ticking more examples off on my fingers. "How about Taylor?" Taylor was in the intensive care unit here at the base. She had regained consciousness and her brain seemed to be functioning normally again, but she was still a gold skinned, cold blooded reptilian creature. "And footage of our powers?" It was on YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, Google – you name it and it was there. "And Dune? What about how scarily fast Dune matured?" They had made me take a DNA test to prove that I was indeed Dune's mother (they compared my DNA with that of my dead son's), since my second son looked like he was the same age – nearly sixteen – as I was (they had managed to recover Dune's body after the big battle, just as they had Gaia's, and the two were now being stored in a morgue, awaiting autopsy). "And . . ."

"Enough, Tuesday!" Dad cut me off angrily. "I know that it's all there, but aliens taking over the planet is still implausible, and extremely so at that! People just don't believe it."

"They should!" I shouted. "The evidence is right in front of their faces!"

Dad shook his head wearily and lowered himself into the Lazy Boy recliner in the corner of the room. "There's nothing that I can do to convince them otherwise." He told me tiredly. "All that I can do is keep you and your kids out of it."

That just made me even angrier. "If everyone else has to explain tehri decisions then why shoudln't I?" When Dad just shook his head, I burst out, "I need to help! I need to tell these people how things are, what it was like in the FAYZ!" Sam would never be able to do that, I knew; each child's death was like a weight on his shoulders, something that he thought that he and he alone was responsible for.

"No, Tuesday." Dad's voice was hard; it was his business voice. "I won't have you put through that."

"Bull crap!" I burst out. "You're not afraid of putting me through that, you're afraid of what it will do to your perfect image!"

"I'm trying to protect you, Tuesday." Dad may lie to people for a living as a big time hot shot successful businessman, but he couldn't fool me.

"But not for the right reasons." My voice was quieter now; I delivered the words slowly and clearly as if they were weapons. "And until you are protecting me for the right reasons, I don't want your protection at all."

And then I turned and left, leaving him sitting htere in his chair, staring after me.


	11. Two Months After the Fall of the FAYZ 2

**Disclaimer: Ugh. Okay, so Michael Grant owns the FAYZ, Sam, Astrid, Edilio, Caine, etcetera, etcetera. I own Tuesday, her kids, her dad, . . . yeah, that's about it!**

Astrid's POV

"Honesty makes or breaks a relationship, Sam!" I cried, adding, "You need to be honest with me."

Sam gave me a torn look, and I realized that this was how Tuesday must have felt, when she realized that Sam was still in love with me.

Because I knew for sure that Sam still loved Tuesday – maybe even more than he loved me.

"I can't do this anymore, Astrid!" He burst out. "You, Tuesday, you, Tuesday – God, I love you both, and I just can't choose! Sometimes it's Tuesday, then she does something that annoys or exasperates me and it's you again. She makes it obvious that she's over me, so I back off, and I try to move on, to be with you. But then it seems like Tuesday wants me back, but she really doesn't, and then the cycle repeats . . ." Sam broke off and hung his head as I stood there, stunned.

I wasn't sure if Sam had caught his mistake or not – the way he'd worded his feelings, it placed Tuesday in the center. Whether he was with her or me depended on what _Tuesday_ did, not how Sam felt about both of us.

It was her – it had been her, all along, ever since I had left, unknowingly stepping aside so that Sam could fall for her.

I knew that I should feel unbearably sad – after all, Sam was my life. He was my first love . . . wait a minute. I'd just said that he was my _first_ love. I hadn't said my true love, or even my only love; I'd said my first love.

Was Sam really my true love? I took a step away and tried to sort out my thoughts from a more scholarly point of view. Sam was the only boy that I had loved, and I did still love him. I didn't want to lose him, either, but I couldn't tell if it was because I _couldn't_ live without him or if I was _scared_ to live without him. They were two very different concepts, I realized, and the one that I chose would decide the fate of our relationship.

"Are we breaking up, Sam?" I asked quietly. I couldn't help but think that my parents would be thrilled – ever since they had seen Sam battling the Gaiaphage in the form of little Gaia they had thought extremely lowly of him. They hated that I insisted on staying here at the base with Sam.

Pain flickered across Sam's handsome features. "I don't know, Astrid." He whispered. "I . . . I just don't know."

I wished that I knew.


	12. The Trial of the FAYZ

**Disclaimer: Michael Grant owns this stuff. I don't. Oh, wait - Tuesday is mine! Other than that, though, I don't really own anything. **

Tuesday's POV

I managed to glean more information about the 'trials' and soon learned that no one was actually being charged. We would just have to answer for certain decisions made during the FAYZ, decisions that the adults just couldn't understand because they hadn't been there.

Crap.

My dad was still being an idiot two weeks later when the 'question sessions' were announced. Whatever had happened to immunity plea bargains? We'd been through a major trauma here! We'd been trapped in a darastically mutating bubble iwht an evil alien monster! We'd coped as best as we could.

General POV

The notices were sent out to a good number of the elder survivors soon after. Soon after the FAYZ barrier had come down all of the children had been interviewed about what had happened, but there had been no accusations.

But now that the children had had time to 'recuperate', the questioning could begin.

The sessions were being held in a courtroom, though there were very few witnesses present. A few physiatrists, a psychologist or two, army personnel and an honest to goodness judge, who would direct the questioning.

First up was Edilio Escobar.

"Mr Escobar, is it?" Edilio stood at the defendant's table, in front of the judge's stand. He found it highly foreboding that htey hadn't allowed him to stand behind the plaintiff's table – Edilio didn't want to feel that he had anything to defend.

He nodded once. "Yes, Your Honour."

"Good, good." The judge shuffled his papers before gazing at Edilio over his spectacles. "Can you explain to me just what position you held in the 'Fallout Alley Youth Zone'?" The judge pronounced each word in a clipped, precise way.

Edilio nodded again. "I was Sam's right hand man, Your Honour. I was in charge of our army when we still lived in Perdido Beach, before we relocated to Lake Tramanto."

"So you were, in essence, in charge of security?" The judge questioned.

Another nod. "Yes, Your Honour."

"So you were responsible for supplying mere children with weapons?" Edilio couldn't help but notice the accusation in the judge's tone. "You gave firearms to ten year olds?"

"Wiht all due respect, Your Honour," Edilio protested, "the eldest people in the FAYZ were only fifteen. Being ten in the FAYZ is a lot different from being ten in the normal world."

"Answer the question, Mr Escobar." The judge snapped.

Edilio gulped before nodding. "Yes, Your Honour, I taught my soldiers how to safely use a gun to defend us from threats and coyotes."

The judge grunted. "And just what did you perceive as a threat, Mr Escobar, aside from the wildlife?"

He was tempted to reply the Gaiaphage, but Edilio held back. He didn't doubt that the judge was one of the people who doubted the existence of the Darkness.

Instead he answered, "Well, Drake, for one. And at times Caine."

"Last names, Mr Escobar, if you please."

Gritting his teeth, Edilio clarified, "Drake Merwin and Caine Soren."

"If memory serves Mr Merwin is now deceased; murdered. Is that correct, Mr Escobar?" The judge shot back.

Edilio had no choice but to nod. The judge sat back in his chair almost smugly.

"Yes. And his murderer is not to be put on trial, of crouse." Edilio couldn't help but think that they could have gotten a better judge for these 'question sessions'.

When Edilio didn't answer, the judge dropped the topic and asked a few mundane questions before finally dismissing Edilio.

The young man left the courtroom feeling shaken and worrying what would happen after this.

"Miss – Ellison, is it?" The judge glanced up at Astrid over the rim of his glasses. "Astrid Ellison?"

Astrid nodded. "Yes, Your Honour."

Settling back in his chair, the judge began gently enough. He had nothing against Astrid; she looked liek a nice enough young woman, now that was cleaned up, and _she_ wasn't an illegal immigrant like Mr Escobar had been.

Judge Thomas Dayton had wanted to have Edilio Escobar and his entire family deported back to whatever hole they had crawled out of, but the Colonel had refused, saying that public sympathies lay with the boy and his family. Judge Dayton was highly respected, but even so the Colonel refused to deport Edilio just because he was a Honduran and a homosexual. Thomas Dayton was a notorious homophobe.

"Miss Ellison, would you please describe your position in the anomaly for me?"

The judge's voice lacked the edge that it had had earlier during Edilio's session, and Astrid relaxed a bit.

"I was on the town council, Your Honour." She answered.

There were a few more questions – nothing too serious – until the judge asked her something touchy.

"Kindly explain to me your relationship with Mr Sam Temple."

Astrid hesitated – how to put it? "We were romantically involved, Your Honour." She responded finally, a tad hestitantly.

"Were or are, Miss Ellison?" The judge was quick to pick up her wording.

"We were dating during some of the time of the FAYZ." Astrid avoided completely answering the question.

Judge Dayton decided not to press her on that point and moved on. "Your brother – Peter Michael Ellison – was one of the children who died in the anomaly. Can you tell me waht happened?"

Astrid froze. Could she explain ntaht she had abandoned her brother, thrown him to his death? Could she tell the judge that she suspected that, somehow, her brother had survived as some sort of spirit and had become a part of Tuesday and Sam's son, Dune?

"The coyotes got him." Astrid whispered, tears threatening to choke her. "He . . . I . . ." She coudnl't finish, and Judge Dayton took pity on her.

"That will do, Miss Ellison." He released her, and she hurried from the courtroom, guilt over Little Pete's fate rising up again from the box that she had thought that she had buried deep in her heart.

Lana entered the courtroom slowly, taking everything in. God, she hated beign sober. She had been for a while there, but that was before Sanjit had been killed.

God, she needed a smoke _bad_.

"Miss Lazar." The judge was a balding man in his early sixties, distinguished looking with his wire rimmed spectacles and scholarly build. "You were known as 'The Healer' during in the 'Fallout Alley Youth Zone', correct?"

Lana hated the way he said that – 'Fallout Alley Youth Zone' – as if it were a child's game, but she forced a nod. "Yes."

"It sounds like you weren't the one responsible for all of the deaths to me, Miss Arwen Lazar."

"Lazar." Lana corrected; Arwen was her middle name, not her surname. "And no – I wasn't." Though she had tried to kill the Darkness back before it had invaded Gaia, but she had failed. She had killed Pack Leader, but he was just some mangy mutt.

Wait – that wasn't true. She had _tried_ to kill Dekka and Edilio when she'd been under the Darkness' control.

Lana decided not to reveal that to Judge Dayton.

The judge shot Lana a brief look of annoyance, but quickly hid it. "Did you have any other roles in the anomaly?"

Lana shook her head. "No." That was a lie; Lana had been a tool of the Darkness, constantly fighting to break free. But the judge wouldn't believe that.

A few more stupid questions and then Lana was released, once Judge Drayton was satisfied that she had had nothing to do with any of the real decisions made during the FAYZ.

Dahra, Brianna and Dekka all had their 'sessions' the next day; quick, painless things, since the three girls really hadn't been responsible for much in the way of 'crimes'.

Two days after Edilio's trial it was Caine's turn.

Caine Soren strolled into the courtroom, a lazy half smile on his face, hands in his pockets, as if this was nothing more than a get together with friends.

Judge Drayton took an instant disliking to the young man.

"Mr Soren." The judge fixed Caine with a piercing look over the rim of his glasses. "You have a lot of crimes to answer for."

"Excuse me, Your Honour, but I was told that this was a 'question session', not a trial." Caine answered cheekily, watching in satisfaction as the judge's eyes narrowed.

"You killed so many innocents that I barely know where to begin!" The judge exclaimed.

Caine jsut shrugged. "I have reasosn for them all." Thoams Drayton wished that this was a real trial – he'd love nothing more than to put this arrogant young peacock behind bars for the rest of his miserable life.

"Why did you kill Penny Chong?" Judge Drayton snapped.

"She was a terror." Caine protested. "She plastered me and stapled a corwn to my head! She deserved what she got."

"That is not something that you have a right to decide, Mr Soren, whether someone lives or dies." The judge exclaimed.

"Who's next?" Caine sounded bored, and Judge Drayton could feel his blood pressure rising.

"Hank Cooper." The judge ground up. "I have accounts that you sent him hurtling into the ocean, killing him."

"He was shooting at me." Caine shrugged. "So I took care of the problem."

"Took . . . care . . ." Thomas Drayton was sputtering by this point. "Mr Cooper was a human being, Mr Soren, not some rabid dog!"

Caine just shrugged again. "Next."

"Gregory Ericson." The judge ground out. Ah, Chunk. Good ol' Chunk. Caine actually hadn't made a conscious choice to kill Chunk; he'd still been recovering from his encounter with the Darkness.

"Lost my temper." Caine admitted. "I don't exactly remember that one."

Caine could tell that the judge wanted to have him thrown behind bars right then and there, but, to Judge Drayton's credit, he got his temper and outrage under control.

"You are also responsible for the death of Drake Merwin."

"Only the first time." Caine insisted. "Tuesday finished him off before I could the second time."

"Tuesday Bryant?" Thomas Drayton hated that the all powerful Maverick Bryant, father of young Tuesday, had managed to weasel his daughter out of a questioning session.

Caine nodded. "Yep. But as to why I took out Drake the first time, he was a menace! He was worse than I am, Your Honour. And I'm not even sure if you can call it a murder, since he _did_ come back . . ." Caine let that sentence trail off, enjoying the look of pure disgust on the judge's face.

Judge Drayton forced himself to move on. "Frank Gable. Why did you kill _him_, Mr Soren?"

"Panda?" Caine protested. "I didn't kill Panda, he killed himself!" Caine decided not to mention that he had taken part in cannibalism after Panda's suicide. Judge Drayton already disliked him enough as it was.

"Pure hearsay, Mr Soren." The judge shot back.

Caine shrugged. "Whatever." Ooh, that sure got under Drayton's skin!

"Lance Charleston. Do you remember him, Mr Soren? Yet another one of your victims. There were also the several others that were killed by the fire that you had Zil Sperry set to conceal your escape. Plus countless others whom are recorded as deceased without explanation."

Caine was starting to get bored now; damn, if only Sam hadn't insisted that they all hide their powers, Caine could have been long gone from this crap.

"Well?" Judge Drayton demanded testily as Caine day dreamed about throwing Drayton through a wall.

Caine just shrugged again, knowing how much it irritated adults. "As I said, I had reasons for all of my kills, and I don't regret any of them."

Drayton sputtered for a few moments before changing topics finally.

"I have reports that you raped Tuesday Bryant. What do you have to say to that charge, Mr Soren? Did you 'have your reasons'?" Were judges allowed to mock the people they were judging?

"Rape Tuesday?" Caine was furious. "Who the hell said that? Liars!"

"The court is skeptical of your denial, Mr Soren." Judge Drayton snapped. "After you just admitted to at least five murders."

Caine was quickly losing his temper. "I didn't rape Tuesday. I don't know where you got your information from, but if you ask her she'll tell you the truth. We hooked up when she lived with Dune and Fane in Perdido Beach after my idiot brother got back with the Brain. Tuesday was more htan willing to have sex with me."

Judge Drayton couldn't help but hear the smugness in Caine's voice during that last sentence, and the judge clenched his jaw tight to keep from losing his temper.

"Do you realize that I oculd have you brought up on these charges, Mr Soren?" Judge Drayton demanded.

"You could try." Caine agreed. "But I don't think that you'll get to. After all, I was just put through a highly traumatic event in which the almighty government of the United States of America couldn't save me. I've been through hell and back, and for that people pity me. Every single person did things that are unimaginable to a normal person in the FAYZ to survive, and I'm no different. You've got enxt to nothing on me." Caine belatedly added, "Your Honour," but it was obvious that he meant no respect to the judge.

Judge Drayton didn't know what to do with Caine, so he just ground out, "We're done here, Mr Soren."

Caine sauntered out of the room as Thomas Drayton stared daggers at the teenager's back.

By the time Sam arrived for his 'questioning session' Judge Drayton was highly annoyed. The session with Caine Soren had ended terribly, and the judge hadn't even managed to ask the insufferably arrogant and obviously unrepentant youth about the late Diana Ladris and her child.

Sam's hands were already cold and clammy by the time he was done swearing to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help him God. He wiped his hands on his pants nervously as the judge glowered down on him.

"Samuel Temple." The judge snapped. "Explain."

Sam broke then; all of the guilt and regret he'd been harboring for the last two years poured out. "It's my fault!" He rubbed a hand over his face. "All my fault. I should have protected them better, but I didn't. I was always too late, too weak, too slow. I tried, I really did, but it was just never enough. It was just the FAYZ, man, just the FAYZ, everyone kept saying. But I was the leader! I was the soldier, the warrior. It was my job to protect those kids, and I failed them." Sam raked a frustrated hadn through hsi hair as he unburdened his soul to this merciless looking man. "I coudln't save E.Z. from the zekes, I couldn't save Hutner from the bugs, we lost others to the plague, a plague that I couldn't stop, and that boy who was killed by Drake when he came back to life, that was my fault too because I didn't stop Drake . . . I didn't protect Diana and her baby from the Gaiaphage, and I didn't burn Drake from existence when I had the chance, when Brittney was begging me to do it, before the Darkness turned her." Sam vaguely realized that he was rambling by this point, but he couldn't quite manage to stop himself. "I didn't realize that Mother Mary ahd a problem and didn't get her any help, and I didn't send protection for those kids during the blackout. If only I'd sent a patrol to meet them the coyotes wouldn't have gotten them. I couldn't even save my own son!" Sam cast a desperate look at the judge. "Dune died to save us! _I _should have been the one who had to die, not my son." That was one of the things that weighed most heavily on Sam's soul. "I didn't stop the Human Crew before they set fire to Perdido Beach. More deaths . . . Cigar too, I should have helped him . . . my fault . . ." The words eventually died, and Sam hung his head in shame, guilt threatening to drown him.

"I object, Your Honour!" Sam whipped around incredulously to see Tuesday striding into the courtroom, eyes blazing and face set.

"Excuse me, miss, but this is a closed trial!" Judge Drayton protested. "You aren't allowed in here. Bailiff!"

"Trial?" Tuesday was madder than she'd been in a long time, and it took a good deal of her control to keep her hands from lighting. "I was told that these were merely 'question sessions', not trials, Your Honour."

"What's your name?" The bailiff was moving towards Tuesday quickly, but she didn't seem to notice or care.

"Tuesday Bryant, Your Honour. If I were you, I wouldn't kick me out." Judge Drayton sputtered at the girl's audacity until Tuesday added, "If you let me stay I'll answer any questions you have for me."

"I have no session scheduled with you, Miss Bryant." Judge Drayton was careful to use 'session' this time, rather than 'trial'.

The bailiff paused by Tuesday's side, uncertain, as the girl smirked. "Now you do."

"Fine!" The judge finally burst out. "Let her stay."

Tuesday marched over to where Sam stood at the defendant's table, and Sam watched with mixed feelings as Tuesday swore that she too would tell the truth and nothging but the truth, so help her God. Sam didn't want Tuesday to have to deal with the accusatory Judge Drayton.

"Now, Miss Bryant, what do you have to say about what you overheard Mr Temple confessing?" Thomas Drayton wasn't sure if he was going to regret asking Tuesday this particular question or not, but he was too curious not to.

"Sam Temple did an amazing job taking care of us, Your Honour." Tuesday said firmly. "He was the best warrior that we could have asked for, and everything that he did he did for us. He always put the safety of other kids first, walking straight into the midst of battle to protect us all from whatever threats arose. He faced Drake over and over again even after Drake nearly killed him. Drake threatened to cause a nuclear meltdown unless Sam stopped fighting him, and Sam agreed in order to save us. He got us through the adults' disappearance, starvation, plague, and the darkness that enclosed the barrier before it became transparent. Sam's a hero, Your Honour."

Sam had been staring at Tuesday the whole time, through her surprise appearance and impassioned speech. Seeing her now, having her defend him . . . God, Sam missed her more than ever in that moment. Yes, he and Astrid were good together. It was easy to be with Astrid – simple. With Tuesday things were more complicated, but Sam _wanted_ them to be complicated if it meant that at the end of the day Tuesday was by his side and in his arms.

For her part Tuesday was trying not to look Sam's way too much. She hadn't been this close to him for a long time now; during any gropu meetings there'd always been others between them. She missed him more than she cared to admit, even to herself.

"Would you care to explain your personal relationships with Mr Temple to me, Miss Bryant?" Judge Drayton was secretly thrilled; he'd been sorely disappointed when Colonel Matteu had made it clear that, due to the express wishes of the very powerful Maverick Bryant, young Tuesday would not be having a questioning session. And now here was Miss Bryant, agreeing to answer any of Judge Drayton's questions.

If the judge had eben expecting Tuesday to flinch over that question, he would have been disappointed. The young woman answered steadily, "We were dating, Your Honour, and we had a son together. We've been broken up for seven months now."

Far too long, Sam thought to himself distractedly, eyes fixed on Tuesday's lips. Definitely far too long.

"I have reports and testimonies that you were responsible for the death of Drake Merwin." Judge Drayton accused.

Tuesday nodded once. "I incinerated him." She murmured, but her voice held none of the unconcerned smugness that Caine's had held. "It was the only way to make sure that he stayed dead." Glancing up and meeting the judge's eyes, Tuesday said firmly, "He was a monster and a psychopath, Your Honour, but I regretted killing him. But it had to be done; it was either kill or be killed, and he had almost murdered too many of my loved ones for me to show mercy and allow him to be unleashed on the world."

"You have no right to decide whether another human being lives or dies, Miss Bryant." The judge reprimanded.

"She was defending herself!" Sam burst out, coming to Tuesday's defense. "Drake was trying to kill her, and she defended herself. That's all there is to it."

Judge Drayton turned his attention back to Sam incredulously. "I disagree, Mr Temple! There is certainly more to it than that."

"With all due respect, Your Honour, we all did things that we're not proud of during the FAYZ, but what's done is done. Those thigns were necessary at the time, and there's no way that we can take them back. We're trying to cope with what happened and move on, and these 'question sessions' seem a hell of a lot like trials to me."

Sam was recovering from his earlier break down and, though he still felt unbearably guilty, he was ready to deal with it again, just like he had done countless times before. That guilt would always be with him, but Tuesday was right – he was a hero, too, and he _had_ managed to save lives. Judge Drayton had no right to make Sam feel that low.

The judge frowned slightly. "Mr Temple, what do you have to say about the murder of Penny Chong? Testimonies name you as a co-murderer, along with Mr Soren, your twin brother."

"Penny was a threat." Sam said simply. "If we hadn't killed her we would have died."

"He was defending himself." Tuesday piped up, using Sam's words from earlier.

Judge Drayton glanced between the two of them unhappily, not liking the direction that this trial was taking.

"Your Honour," Tuesday said, "we made the best of an unfathomable, impossible decision. We did what we had to do in the hellish new reality that we were faced with in the FAYZ. We'll forever be living with the guilt of things gone wrong and inevitable deaths. But _we did what we had to do_. There was nothing else we could do."

Thomas Drayton normally didn't like teenagers – they were pathological liars and the boys always seemed to wear their pants around their ankles – but he couldn't help but grudgingly admire the two young people who stood before him.

Not that he'd ever voice that admiration, of course.

"No further questions." Judge Drayton finally announced, leaning back in his chair and regarding Tuesday and Sam thoughtfully. "Court dismissed."

Tuesday's POV

"You directly disobeyed me, Tuesday."

I sighed heavily. I'd barely gotten out of the doors of the courtroom before my father had cornered me, demanding a private conversation _right this moment_.

I'd really wanted to talk to Sam alone first, but Dad refused to take no for an answer and dragged me off towards his room/office/damage control center.

Once inside, he shut the door ifmrly to insure that we wouldn't be overheard and began his tirade.

"Sam needed help." I protested. "I coudln't just leave him to Judge Drayton's mercy!"

"Yes, you could have." Dad snapped angrily. "I was trying to spare you being falsely accused, Tuesday, and I didn't want you to be associated with that Temple boy. He's bad news, almost as bad as that brother of his." I held back from rolling my eyes; if Dad disapproved of Sam, then he _strongly_ disapproved of Caine.

"I told you that I didn't want your protection, Dad." I retorted. "Unless you figured out that I'm more important to you than your public image."

Dad frowned darkly at me – the look was almost a full out glare. "You know that I tried to keep you from those sessions to protect _you_, Tuesday. My public image has nothing to do with it."

I snorted derisively. "Of course not!" I snapped. "I mean, why would the Maverick Bryant have to worry about hsi daughter being charged with murder and loose behaviour with not one but two boys also guilty of murder?" My voice hardened dangerously as I growled, "I'm not an idiot, Dad, so stop treating me like one. Ever since I was a little kid you've been more concerned with your job than you have with me. Mom was the one who wanted kids, and Mom was the one who loved Harry and me. We were jsut accessories to you from the start."

"Leave your mother out of this, Tuesday." Dad barked.

"Then stop lying to me!" I flared. "Stop pretending that you know what's best for me. You know _nothing_ about me anymore, Dad. _Nothing!_"

"I'm trying to protect you, Tuesday!" Dad's voice broke. "It's my fault that you got trapped in that god damned anomaly. If I hadn't sent you to Coates Academy this never would have happened, and you would have been safe!"

That gave me pause; Dad actually had tears in his eyes. Oh my God, he really did think that it was his fault that I had had to live through the FAYZ.

I stared at my father for long, silent moments after he had collapsed into his Lazy Boy, head in hsi hands, shoulders shaking.

"Dad, I . . ." I trailed off as Dad's head rose and I saw actually tears falling down hsi cheeks.

"You're all that I have left, Tuesday." He whispered, the words pulling at my heart. "I didn't realize that until they called me about the anomaly, saying that you were trapped inside of it. As the months passed, I started to realize that I may have lost you for good."

"You don't know what you've got until it's gone." I murmured.

Dad nodded. "I love you, Tuesday, and I'm sorry if I've been an absent father all of these years. I promise to be better; I promise to protect you from any and all threats. I coudln't bear to lose you again, Tuesday."

"I love you too, Dad." I moved over to his chair, perching on the arm and wrapping my arms around him. "But I need you to trust me when I say that this is something that I have to do. You can't protect me from everything, and you don't have to."

Dad didn't answer, but his arms tightened around me in a way that made me doubt he'd heard a thing I'd said.

"I won't lose you again, Tuesday." He repeated.

I sighed inwardly – baby steps, Tues, I reminded myself. Baby steps. "Love you, Dad." I whispered.

"I love you too, Tuesday."

Astrid's POV

"How was the trial?" Sam had shown up at my door after his 'question session' had ended, his expression unreadable.

I had invited him in, and waited patiently as he swiveled in my desk chair. He'd talk when he was ready – I hoped.

"Tuesday showed up." Okay, I hadn't been expecting that. "Just burst in, ready to defy the judge to defend me."

I held my breath, unsure where this was going – were Sam and I finally breaking up?

Sam finally looked up and met my eyes. "Astrid . . ."

I pushed off of the bed and started pacing the room – people called me Astrid the Genius for a reason. I knew immediately that this was it – this was the breakup that I had been dreading.

Sam broke off as I paced, but eventually continued gently, "I'm sorry, Astrid, but I just can't do this. It feels like a lie to me now, and I can't do that to you. You deserve better than me."

I whipped on him quickly. "I don't _want_ better!" I cried. "Because there is no one better htan you, Sam."

He rubbed a tired hand over his face – this was hurting him as much as it was hurting me.

"You were the first girl that I ever loved, Astrid." He told me softly. "But when you just up and left . . . I was heartbroken. Tuesday helped me heal, and I fell for her too. I had moved on. And then, when you returned . . ." He shook his head slowly. "All of those old feelings resurfaced, and I thought that it was because I had never really gotten over you – because I was still madly in love with you." I watched in misery as Sam stood slowly and walked over to where I now stood still in the center of the room, feeling very small and vulnerable. "I still love you, Astrid, and you'll always be my first love."

"But it's not enough." My words came out in a broken whisper.

Sam's strong arms encircled me, holding me tight against his chest. "You really do deserve better, Astrid. You deserve someone who will always put you first and love you unconditionally. You deserve the greatest guy in the world. You deserve to be happy."

At that moment I doubted that I would ever be happy if I coudln't be with Sam, but I let him hug me for a few moments longer before he pulled away and pressed a gentle kiss onto my forehead.

"What if she doesn't take you back?" The words had spilled out before I could stop them as Sam released me.

He gave me a sad smile. "I'll just have to take that chance."

I watched him leave the room, eyes trained on the door until the room had darkened and it was time for supper.


	13. A Breakup

**Disclaimer: Y'all know the drill. Michael Grant copyrighted all of this stuff, except for Tuesday et al. Y'know what that means? He owns it and I don't! Now, onto the story.**

Tuesday's POV

Edilio came to my room the next day after my 'counselling session' (*snort* what a joke!) with news.

"They're going to start sending kids home for good." He informed me quietly as we sat on the floor of my bedroom. "All parents with a place to go are to leave with their children, and the rest are going to be housed in temporary homes until the construction is done." For the last month the government had been pouring money into rebuilding Perdido Beach, trying to erase the FAYZ from the landscape and buildings.

I still didn't think that that was the best idea – sending all of these scarred kids away from each other – but the alternative wasn't possible (letting us all live together in our own post-FAYZ community). A lot of parents just wanted to move on and forget all of it, and I had a feeling that a good number of survivors did too.

Me? I'd never be able to forget, and I knew that no one else would be able to either. But that didn't mean that thye woudln't want to try.

"It's time for us to move on." I murmured. "But I don't like the thought of us scattering to different sides of the globe after ebing together for so long with only each other to rely on."

Edilio nodded in agreement. "I know how you feel." His voice was as soft as mine. "But I don't know if I want to stay here and live in Perdido Beach again after what happened."

I nodded again. Most of the Perdido families had relocated or were in the process of moving to new cities. The government had been more than generous, helping families find new houses and even going so far as purchasing the buildings for the families.

It wasn't exactly out of the goodness of their hearts, I knew – they had already figured out that the sooner these families got situated the quicker this whole thing would blow over.

"I've also heard it whispered that Caine might not get that immunity bargain that the rest of us are getting." This was news; Dad had already told me about the plea bargains that had been worked out for us – exempting us from any and all crimes committed in the FAYZ – but he hadn't told me that there would be exceptions.

I hadn't been present for Caine's 'question session', but I had a feeling that it had gone even worse than I'd originally thought.

I shook my head slowly. "That's not right – yes, Caine's not exactly a good person, but I don't think he should be tried when the rest of us aren't."

I got a snort of contempt for htat. "Caine is a monster."

"But he stepped up when thigns got really bad." God, why was I defending that telekinetic creep? "And he really helped us during the fight iwth the Gaiaphage."

Edilio grunted, unwilling to concede the point. "You can't save him, Tues, no matter how hard you try."

I sighed. "Yeah – I know. But it's just not in my nature to give up."

Another grunt, this one more amused than the first.

"Hey – how are you and Roger doing?" Total change of topic, yes, but I'd been wondering. Roger and his family had left three weeks ago for Chicago, and I wondered if he and Edilio were still keeping in touch.

"Good. Long distance isn't great, but we're emailing each other regularly." Edilio shrugged. "It might change if the government deports us."

My jaw dropped – why hadn't I heard about this?! "What?" I demanded incredulously.

Edilio nodded. "Some of the families – the ones who lost their kids – they want us gone. They hate that I'm a gay illegal immigrant."

"They have no right!" I protested, angry on his behalf. "No frickin right at all!"

Edilio just shrugged, as calm and unfazed as always. "That's people for you."

I gritted my teeth angrily. There was no way in _hell_ that I would let Edilio and his family get deported. _No way in hell_.

I had to talk to Dad.

I knocked sharply three times, still upset. Yes, Edilio had only said that it was a possibility, but I hated that the government was even _considering_ such an injustice. After everything that we'd been through, they were actually thinking about doing that to Edilio and his family?

The door opened to reveal a surprised looking Charlotte, Dad's personal secretary.

"Miss Bryant!" She exclaimed. "Is your father expecting you?"

I didn't like Charlotte – she was barely older than I was, and I was almost positive that she was sleeping with my father.

"No." My tnoe was a tad abrupt. "I didn't think that I needed an appointment to talk to my own father."

Charlotte frowned. "Mr Bryant is out, Miss. He's at a meeting."

Well that was just _perfect_. "Tell him I watn to talk to him when he gets back." I turned away before Charlotte – that bubblehead – could answer and strode down the hall.

Whipping around a corner, I smacked right into a distinctly male chest.

"Oof!" Firm hands reached out to grab my forearms, keeping me from landing flat on my butt.

"I'm so sorry . . ." I broke off as I got a good look at the boy. "Sam!"

"Tuesday." Sam's grip on my forearms tightened. "I was just looking for you."

"I was trying to find my dad . . . did you know that the government's thinking about deporting the Escobars?"

"I – what? Edilio's being deported?" Sam still hadn't let me go – and I wasn't sure that I wanted him to.

I nodded. "The government's thinking about it because of angry, self-righteous idiots who are trying and failing epically to properly deal with their grief." I was still disgusted in my country's government about that.

"It won't happen." He promised me. "I won't _let_ it happen."

I felt a little better after that. "None of us will." Sam knew that when I said 'us' I meant the FAYZ survivors. Even though the barrier was gone and the FAYZ was over, the kids of Perdido Beach were still an 'us'. We'd been through too much together to not be.

"Astrid and I broke up." Whoa – I had _not_ been expecting that.

"You – what?" I sputtered, mixed emotions rising. I pulled out of his grasp.

Sam stuck his hands in his pockets; I had a feeling that he was trying not to reach for me again. "Astrid and I broke up." He repeated slowly.

My heart leapt, hope surging, but I crushed it down cruelly. "No."

Sam gave me a confused look. "What do you mean, no?"

"No, you can't do this!" I burst out. "Back and forth, back and forth. How the hell am I supposed to know whether you and Astrid are done for good or not? How do I know that this whole cycle that you've got going on isn't just going to repeat itself?" Sam had broken my ehart when he'd cheated on me with Astrid; and, worse, I had still been willing to be with him even after I caught him and Astrid kissing. I hated that I loved him so much that I would overlook infidelity. Him having that kind of power over me scared the crap out of me.

"I hurt you, Tues, and for that I'm sorry." Sam said quietly. "I don't expect you to forgive me, and I certainly don't expect you to take me back. I just . . . I just needed you to know that Astrid and I are done. For good this time." He shrugged briefly. "That's it."

I watched him leave, pain making my throat tight, one hand absently rubbing the swell of my belly as he disappeared from my sight.

Could I trust this? Were Sam and Astrid honestly done? Could Sam and I work, even after everything that had happened? Even after him cheating with Astrid and me sleeping with Caine? Could we work through our issues while I carried his twin brother's babies?

I honestly had no idea, but my heart wanted to try, come hell or high water. I'd never stopped loving Sam – I coudln't even deny that to myself. But was it really that easy? Could we just be all right even after everything that had happened between us?

My heart was ready to take the plunge, but my head just wasn't sure. It was afraid of being rejected again.

General POV

A week and a half later Astrid Ellison and her parents left the base, moving to New Hampshire.

Astrid didn't want her and Sam to be over, but she knew without a doubt that for Sam, they were. He had loved Tuesday from the start – and now that he had finally realized that there would be no way that he and Astrid could be happy together.

The Perdido Beach survivors were starting to scatter. The FAYZ was still in the news, and reporters were still vying for interviews, but things were starting to calm down; the public was beginning to acknowledge that the survivors just wanted to move on with their lives.


	14. A Surprise Visit

**Disclaimer: Michael Grant is the owner! Not me. He owns the FAYZ, its inhabitants (who, yes, aren't in the FAYZ anymore, but he still owns them!). I don't think that he owns Perdido Beach, if it's a real place . . . hmm, I'll have to Google that . . . anyways, he owns everything except for my characters (Tuesday, Dune, the twins, Mr Bryant, um, Harry, though we don't really ever know him, 'cause he's dead, Christian and Cadence, who y'all don't know yet 'cause I'm still working on the part that they're in . . .).**

**So, yeah. Short story long, GONE and everything it entails belongs to Michael Grant.**

**This part takes place a while after the last few parts do. Just heads up.**

Tuesday's POV

I sat in the shower, letting the hot water pour over me and cradling my glass in my hands. The coke can that I had half emptied sat on the edge of the tub, protected from the falling water by the shower curtain.

The kids were all napping, and I had the baby monitor sitting on a stool within reach of the shower.

I leaned back into the water, taking a sip of my drink and marvelling at how much colder it seemed in contrast to the hot water hitting my shoulders and back.

"Drinking in the shower, Tuesday? I'm shocked." I jumped at the male voice on the other side of the shower curtain; I hadn't heard anyone come in.

Recognizing the voice, I glowered in the voice's general direction. "Go away, Caine."

Caine chuckled. "Don't you want to know how I knew you were drinking?"

"No." I snapped.

"I can see your outline through the shower curtain." He told me anyways. "What's in the wine glass? Red wine? Whiskey? A margarita?"

"Coca cola." I said. "You know that I don't drink alcohol."

"Ah, yes." I heard the sound of shuffling and deduced that Caine was making himself comfortable on the stool that held by bathrobe and the baby monitor. "We could've had a hell of a lot of fun if you'd just taken a sip." When we had been together, Caine had once broken out his hidden supply of liquor. I'd refused steadfastly when he'd tried to pressure me into getting drunk wtih him.

I rolled my eyes, regretting that Caine couldn't see me doing that. "Go away, Caine." I repeated.

"You can't fool me, Tuesday." He replied. "I can see the can sitting on the edge of the tub."

"The coca cola can." I returned.

He just snorted. "Please – no one just drinks coca cola in the shower. What'd you put in it? Rum?"

"Don't you dare judge me!" How had he known? "I have enough people judging me already." I took antoher hearty sip of my rum and coke.

Caine put false sympathy into his voice quite convincingly. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Shut up, Caine." I muttered. Sam and Astrid had been broken up for awhile, and Sam just kept coming around with his puppy dog eyes, helping me with Fane and the twins. At my request he didn't talk about any sort of relationship between us anymore, but I knew that everyone else had jumped to the conclusion that we were back together again.

Caine jsut laughed at me, which majorly peed me off (maybe it was just the alcohol hitting my system – I wasn't normally this volatile).

"Do you think about her?" I meant my words to wound, but in the end they came out more curiously than harmfully. "Diana?"

Caine was silent for long moments before telling me coldly, "Don't push me, Tuesday."

"You won't hurt me." My words surprised me because I actually believed them. I shifted to a more cross legged position in the tub, getting comfortable.

He considered before replying, "I don't think that I would kill you, but I wouldn't hesitated to hurt you."

You know what? I believed that too. Dropping the subject of Diana, I fell silent and continued to sip my drink.

"Where'd you hide the rum bottle?" Caine asked after a moment of silence.

"Under the sink." No use denying it.

I heard Caine get up and rustle under the sink for the bottle and then heard him popping the cork and taking a swig.

"Refill?" He offered, and I handed him my almost empty glass and waited while he emptied out my coke can, tossed it, and then splashed some rum into the glass before handing it back to me.

"Thanks." I murmured, taking a little sip and enjoying the feeling of the alcohol tracing a path down my throat. "Do you ever think about Gaia?"

"No." Caine's answer was quick and clipped. "Do you ever think about Dune?"

I nodded slowly. "Every single day."

He didn't answer for a few moments before saying quietly, "He was a powerful little boy, Tuesday. More powerful than even Gaia. It makes sense, when you think about it." He mused. "His parents are both four bars, whereas Diana was only a two bar. It makes you wonder what the twins will be. Hell, you and I are both four bars, just like you and Sam are. The twins are probably at least as powerful as Dune was."

"The word you're looking for is 'was', Caine, for all of us." I corrected quietly. "You know as well as I do that our powers vanished as soon as the barrier fell."

Caine didn't respond to that, instead asking, "Speaking of Sam, where is my do-gooder brother?"

"He's with Dekka and Edilio, making the rounds." Even though most of the kids were going home, Sam still kept an eye on them and checked in every day or so with all of them. "Kids are starting to seriously get sent home." Gazing at Caine's shape outside the curtain, I asked, "When are you going home? And is it going to be Connie or the Sorens that you go home to?"

"I haven't talked to my 'mother'," Caine said the word with a bitter twist, "and I don't plan to. And the Phonies have been asked by the government people to stay. They're still trying to find a way to make me answer for my crimes."

"No plea bargain for Caine Soren the Murderer?" I rolled my eyes. "Who would've thunk it?"

Caine ignored that, instead saying, "The Fakes have hired a lawyer, and he keeps telling me to at least show some remorse for my actions." Since getting out of the FAYZ, Caine had taken to calling Mr and Mrs Soren, hsi adoptive parents, things like the Phonies, the Fakes, the Marauders, etc.

"And? Have you?" Puh-lease – I already knew the answer to that one. There was no way in hell that Caine Soren would ever feel a smidgeon of regret for any of the lives that he had taken during the FAYZ.

"Well, the lawyer has drawn up a document saying how I repent, recant, regret, blah blah blah, etcetera etcetera, and all that I have to do is sign it."

Yeah, 'cause that was likely. "And will you?"

I saw his outline shrug. "I'm not sure yet. It is a very nicely written piece, though."

I rolled my eyes. God, Caine was a piece of work. There was no way in hell that he would put his name to a document that said he regretted the decisions that he had made.

We sat in almost companionable silence for a few minutes, sipping our drinks.

"Do you miss it?" Caine's quiet question took me by surprise.

"Miss what?" I took another tiny sip of my rum and coke. It wasn't a large glass, and two of these were my absolute limit. I didn't drink to erase my pain and problems; it just helped to numb them on particularly bad days.

"Using the Power."

I considered before nodding. "Sometimes. I miss being able to tell people who pissed me off that I would light them up like a Christmas tree."

Caine chuckled. "You and I are more alike than you think, Tuesday. We both come through on our threats, and we're both ruthless."

I snorted. "No, Caine; you and I are completely different. I only hurt people when absolutely necessary – you do it to get ahead."

"I do what I have to do." He answered.

I laughed incredulously, retorting, "No, Sam does what he has to do. You, Caine Soren, do what you _think_ you have to do to keep control, and you don't give a damn about who you hurt in the process. There's nothing 'necessary' about what you do."

"Save me the sermon." Caine sounded bored. "I don't want to hear about how Sam's a hero and I'm a monster."

I sighed. "I didn't say monster."

He didn't reply, and I decided that it was time to get out of the shower and face the world again. I shut off the water and reached out for my towel, drying off behind the shelter of the shower curtain. Yes, Caine could see my outline, but that was all. And I mean, c'mon – it wasn't like Caine hadn't seen me naked before.

"Pass me my bathrobe." Caine handed it to me and I donned the fuzzy white robe, belting it securely before stepping out of the shower, my damp hair hanging down my back.

Caine was still sitting on the stool, rum bottle cradled in his hands. God, he looked like a mess. He had bags under his eyes, and his dark hair was mussed up like he hadn't bothered to brush it in days.

"You look like death." I told him honeslty, getting a dark glare in return but no actual comeback.

I headed for the door, opening it and gesturing that it was time for him to leave.

Caine didn't budge, instead blurting out, "I want to see them." His fingers tapped out an unsteady rhythm on the rum bottle distractedly.

"Them?" I had a sinking feeling that I knew exactly who Caine was referring to.

"The twins." Yep; my suspicions were spot on. "Our twins."

"No." My answer was quick and firm. This was one thing that I wouldn't budge on.

Caine frowned at me. "What do you mean, no? They're my kids!"

"Gaia was your kid." I answered quietly. "And the only time that you gave two craps about her was when you found out just how many bars she had and were thinking about using her powers to your advantage." I would know – Caine was the one who had once confessed that to me, on one of the nights that he had gotten trashed.

"This is different, Tuesday." Bullcrap; I didn't believe that BS for a second.

I just shook my head again. "The answer's no, Caine. It's no now, it'll be no tomorrow, and it'll be no fifty years from now. I know you." I speared him with my gaze, forcing him to look me in the eyes. "I nkow that you'll never change."

Caine didn't answer, instead standing and making his way towards the door, pausing on the way out to try to pass me the half empty rum bottle.

"Keep it." Caine gave me a mocking salute and headed out of the bathroom to my trailer door, taking a deep swig of the bottle before trying to navigate the stairs that led up to the trailer door.

I waited until he was clear of the stairs before heading for the door and closing it quietly behind him and turning the lock. I leaned back against the door and closed my eyes wearily.

How had he even gotten in here in the first place?!


End file.
